NRL Tasmania (abbreviated as NRLTas, and formerly the Tasmanian Rugby League) is the organisation responsible for administering the game of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

in the Australian state of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Tasmania is an affiliated State of the overall Australian governing body, the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...

History

20th Century

The Tasmanian Rugby League was founded at a meeting at Heathorn's Hotel, Hobart on 2 December 1953 and the first competition was held in 1954 with teams including Bellerive (Eastern Shore), Taroona, Newtown and Canterbury. Players were initially recruited from Hobart Rugby Union teams and the first matches were played on 3 April 1954 at the South St Grounds, Bellerive. The first premiership was won by Taroona The first interstate match was played against Victoria on 12 June 1954 with Tasmania winning 18-8.

1990s Golden Era

By the mid 1990s the Tasmanian Rugby League was running a statewide competition which included Seven Hobart teams: * Glenorchy Stingrays (Saints using st george kit) * Sandy Bay Panthers * Eastern Shore Eagles * Newtown Tigers (not connected to the current Hobart Tigers) * Taroona Bulls * Hobart City Falcons * Derwent Valley Sharks and two regional teams: * Launceston Clippers * North-West Warriors (not connected to the current Launceston Warriors) The Tasmanian Rugby League also ran a Northern Tasmanian vs Southern Tasmanian competition during this period. Ben McKinnon from the Launceston Clippers is the only player to have won the statewide best + fairest on two occasions both in his debut season in 1995 and then again in 1997. Due to dwindling player numbers the competition contracted to four Hobart teams during the early 2000s and midway through the 2003-04 season the senior amateur competition folded as a result of rising public liability insurance costs.

2009 Rebirth

In late 2009 a new senior competition was established through the efforts of local 7HO FM Radio Personality Jason 'Wolfie' Wolfgram (President 2009/10), in conjunction with ARL Rugby League Development Officer, Graham McNaney. The decision to re-establish the competition followed a public forum at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart on Thursday 25 June 2009. The revised summer competition initially included ten teams: * Clarence Eels * Hobart Tigers * Northern Suburbs Broncos * New Norfolk Cowboys * Newtown Roosters * South Hobart Storm * Southern Rabbitohs * Sandy Bay Sharks * Taroona Dragons * University Of Tasmania Panthers Gala Days and Under 17s junior exhibition matches have also been a feature of the revised competition. In February 2012 a

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

trial match between

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

and

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

was held in Hobart. Another Storm trial was held in Tasmania in 2017 against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

. In 2013 the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

had talks to the

Tasmanian Government The Tasmanian Government is the executive branch of the Australian state of Tasmania. The leader of the party or coalition with the Confidence and supply, confidence of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly, the lower house of the ...

about NRL games in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

. The Panthers Were Negotiating With Tasmania's State Government About Playing Games For Premiership Points In Hobart, Most Likely Blundstone Arena Or

North Hobart Oval North Hobart Oval is a Stadium, sports venue in North Hobart, Tasmania. Formerly used primarily for Australian rules football widely regarded as the traditional home of Australian football in Tasmania. However since the 1950s it has also becom ...

. The Launceston Warriors were admitted to the competition during the 2012–13 season. A North West Coast Titans team joined the competition in 2013–2014 representing North West Tasmania. The competition folded in 2014 from a lack of players and support.

Tasmanian Rugby League Premiership

The Tasmanian Rugby League Premiership was reborn in 2009. Over its course, the competition consisted of 12 teams at various times: * Clarence Eels * Hobart Tigers * Launceston Warriors * North West Coast Titans * Northern Suburbs Broncos * New Norfolk Cowboys * Newtown Roosters * South Hobart Storm * Southern Rabbitohs * Sandy Bay Sharks * Taroona Dragons * University of Tasmania Panthers

Premierships

Representative Team

Tasmania Rugby League Team is the representative team of the Tasmanian Rugby League. They have competed in many competitions since their first game in 1954, most notably in the

Affiliated States Championship The Affiliated States Championship is an annual rugby league competition run by the Australian Rugby League involving the five affiliated states (Victoria, Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia) ...

(sometimes combined with

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

NRL Matches in Tasmania

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

club

have played three NRL trial matches in

, all at the

In December 2013, it was reported that the

were in talks with the

to play Regular Season Matches in Hobart. However, this proposal never ended up becoming a reality, and no Regular Season NRL matches have ever been played in Tasmania In July 2022 It Was Reported That The

Were In Talks With The

On Bringing Games Back To

. In September 2024 It Was Confirmed The New

Macquarie Point Stadium Macquarie Point Stadium is a proposed multi-purpose venue to be constructed at Macquarie Point in Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, Australia. The site is situated on prominent waterfront land between Hobart's historic port precinct and the ...

Will Host One

Game Per Season From 2029 Onwards

References

External links

* * {{Rugby league in Australia Ru Rugby league governing bodies in Australia Rugby league in Tasmania 1953 establishments in Australia Sports organizations established in 1953